Vietnamese Honey & Coconut Caramelized Chicken
Ingredients
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | sugar |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | salt |
| 1½ tbsp | 23 ml | fish sauce |
| 5 | green onions, white part only, finely chopped | |
| 1 to 3 | red chili, finely chopped (Thai chilies) | |
| 5 | garlic cloves, finely chopped | |
| 1½ tbsp | 23 ml | sesame oil |
| 4 | bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs | |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | vegetable oil |
| 1 | large onion, sliced into 1-inch thick pieces | |
| 1½ cup | 360 ml | 100% coconut water, strained |
| 1½ tbsp | 23 ml | honey |
| — | fish sauce, to serve |
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine all of the marinade ingredients with the chicken thighs. Rub the ingredients into each thigh, then leave to marinate for 1 hour in the fridge.
- In a large frying pan (around 12 to 14-inch), over medium heat, add the vegetable oil. Scrape off the excess marinade from the chicken skin and lay the chicken skin-side down; fry for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on size, until the skin is golden but without completely cooking the chicken. Take out and set aside to cool. (The original recipe says to sear the chicken one by one, but I did all 4 at the same time.)
- Remove any burnt bits of marinade, and add all of the chicken thighs back into the pan, skin-side facing up. Add the onion, coconut water and any excess marinade left in the bowl, then cover the pan with a lid and cook over low heat for 25 minutes. This cooks the chicken through slowly, tenderizing the meat.
- When the 25 minutes is up, take the lid off and increase the heat to high. Drizzle the honey on top of the chicken, keeping your eyes on the pan. Caramelization takes place quickly (it took 20 minutes on my electronic stove), so keep turning the thighs over so they become evenly golden. The liquid will become syrupy and the chicken perfectly golden.
- Not necessary, but a quick blast under the broiler for 2 minutes gives a wonderful crispy skin.
- Serve with fish sauce as a starter, or with jasmine rice as a main. I made chili fish sauce (just add chopped Thai chili into fish sauce) and served it over warm jasmine rice. It was superb!